Remember The AOL Voice That Said “You’ve Got Mail?” Well He Now Works As An Uber Driver

Danny G

“Welcome. You’ve Got Mail!”

That phrase might be the most important phrase of the late ’90s / early 2000s. Everyone and their mother had an AOL account. It was the only email account that mattered (sorry to other email servers back then). Between talking to SmarterChild in a chatroom or picking out your wallpaper, AOL was the place to be on your computer. Hearing “Welcome. You’ve Got Mail” meant that it was going to be a good day.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wondered who said that famous greeting. Well, now our prayers have been answered in the form of Brandee Barker, a former PR executive for Facebook. When Baker climbed into an Uber in Ohio, the driver told her a bombshell. The driver said that he was the voice behind the famous phrase for AOL. The driver’s name is Elwood Edwards.

The man behind the legendary greeting is now driving an Uber. Edwards said he got the AOL gig in 1989, when his wife heard that Steve Case, CEO of AOL, was looking to record voice clips for his service. Edwards recorded his greetings on a cassette and sent them to Case. 27 years later, Americans still recognize and talk about that voice to this day.

Why is Edwards driving an Uber? I feel like he should be just sitting on piles of money right now. No worries because as this story continues to spread, some major company is going to hire Edwards and he’ll be back in business. I could totally see him barking out directions on a GPS app. “Welcome. You have arrived at your destination.”

Hey, Uber, put Edwards’ voice on your app and you’ll be around forever.